Ben Nelson-Roux: Vulnerable boy's hospital 'distress' before death

Ben Nelson-Roux was classed as being at "high risk" of exploitation by county lines gangs in December 2019

A vulnerable boy was taken to hospital in an "aggressive and distressed" state three days before his death, an inquest heard.

Ben Nelson-Roux's body was discovered by his mother at a homeless hostel in Harrogate in April 2020.

The 16-year-old was a drug user and was exploited by county lines drug dealers, Northallerton Coroner's Court was told.

The inquest heard he was shouting and trying to throw an oxygen cylinder when he was being treated in hospital.

Ben was taken to Harrogate District Hospital by ambulance at about 21:00 BST on 5 April 2020.

Dr Kanwal Uzair was the senior doctor in charge at the hospital's emergency department that night.

She told the inquest Ben was shouting at staff. She said she was worried about Ben and about other patients and staff as there was no security on that night, so medical staff had to do what they could to calm him down.

"Ben said, a couple of times, 'I don't want to be here any more'," Dr Uzair told the court.

"He said he had mentioned multiple times he was not happy in the hostel, he was a child and people were using drugs around him, but they could not find him anywhere else to stay."

The inquest previously heard Ben was staying in Harrogate's Robert Street hostel for homeless adults.

He was trying to grab hospital equipment, Dr Uzair said, including an oxygen cylinder which he was threatening to throw.

She said the staff eventually managed to calm Ben down and look at his injuries.

Once Ben's physical injuries had been looked at, Dr Uzair said, she wanted him to be seen by a mental health specialist but had to ring three different teams before someone was able to see him.

An inquest into the death of Ben Nelson-Roux heard he was taken to Harrogate District Hospital three days before his death

The court heard that once Ben had been seen by the mental health team he changed his mind and said he did want to go back to the hostel, despite his mother, Kate Roux, agreeing he could stay at the family home.

Three days later, Ms Roux found her son's body after getting help to kick down the door of his flat at the hostel.

Ben was classed as being at "high risk" of exploitation by county lines gangs in December 2019, after he said he had been forced to sell class A drugs in Sheffield and he was visited by special branch officers to discuss information he had shared with his social worker.

The inquest will resume on Tuesday.